Street Fighter IV: Fei-Long

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Enter the dragon.

By Ryan Clements

If you're a hardcore Street Fighter fan and you're not excited about Street Fighter IV, you're either playing too much Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, or you're crazy. Regardless, Street Fighter IV is shipping out on February 17th and is one of the most anticipated titles of 2009. Not only does the game bring fan favorites like Ken and Ryu back into the ring, but new fighters are on the way as well to make this an extremely appetizing roster. With so many fighters to talk about, we decided to go hands-on with each character on a daily basis, leading up to the game's release. If you've been wondering how the newcomers feel or what sort of changes the series veterans have undergone, we'll let you know.

Fei-Long might be a Hong Kong movie star, but his skills in combat definitely warrant his inclusion in the Street Fighter tournament. Although Fei-Long was long-considered to be a low-tier character, we were surprised (and happy) to see the tweaks made to his moves in HD Remix. The subtle changes, while certainly not elevating him to godly status, made him a much fiercer competitor and more capable of coming out on top. Unfortunately, some of those tweaks don't carry over to Street Fighter IV, as one of his invincibility moves has been taken away. However, Fei-Long's techniques and his speed still make him a worthy fighter if you can work around some of his limitations.

Fei-Long is a straight-forward character and most of his moves focus on horizontal space control, without the use of projectiles. His forward dash is surprisingly fast and it can help him move across the ring with nearly blinding speed. But when it comes to actual attacks, the first noteworthy item on Fei-Long's command list is his Engekishu, which is a Unique Attack that causes Fei-Long to strike with a two-hit, kicking combo that takes away a ridiculous amount of damage considering the ease of its execution and how quick it lands. If both kicks connect, it actually does more damage than a throw, which is very nice.

But the meat of Fei-Long's Special Moves comes in the form of the Rekkaken, which is his sliding attack that can be performed three times in a row and is great for covering space. We were surprised with how difficult the timing is to string the three different strikes together, but once you have a feel for it, the Rekkaken becomes a valuable tool in the ring.

Fei-Long also has his Rekkukyaku, which is an aerial summersault that strikes his opponent three times in a row. It doesn't have any invincibility frames but -- if timed correctly -- it can sail over a projectile and land a hit in the process.

While the other Special Moves mainly work on a horizontal plane, Fei-Long does have one vertical attack, called the Shienkyaku, which sends the passionate warrior spiraling up through the air with a flaming foot. The Ex version of this attack not only deals a fair amount of damage but hits three times, the extra hit coming at the peak of the attack.

The most intriguing move that Fei-Long boasts is the Tenshin, which is a throw that causes him to trip up his opponent and roll over his or her back. This Special Move doesn't do any damage, but it's unblockable and can get Fei-Long out of a corner, as it effectively makes him swap sides with his opponent. One of its flashiest uses that we found was stringing it right after a Focus attack and then following up with a heavy punch and the Shienkyaku. It's reasonably easy to execute and can be brutal on your opponent's health.

That's about it for the Fei-Long basics. If you'd rather check out other Street Fighter competitors, click over to our character montage hub page for plenty of videos and our Insider channel for some slick desktop images.